Robert Woods of the L.A. Rams, who played at USC, carries his belongs from his car as he checks in to training camp at the Campus Village on the campus of U.C. Irvine on Friday morning, July 28, 2017 in Irvine. (Photo by Mark Rightmire/SCNG)

Robert Quinn of the L.A. Rams loads his belongings into a cart in the parking lot as he checks in to training camp at the Campus Village on the campus of U.C. Irvine on Friday morning, July 28, 2017 in Irvine. (Photo by Mark Rightmire/SCNG)

“We’ve got 90 guys, or 89 guys, who will be ready to go,” McVay said Friday.

But, oh, that other one. Defensive lineman Aaron Donald, the Rams’ brightest star and arguably the most dominant player in the NFL, did not report to camp at UC Irvine with his teammates Friday morning and almost certainly will not be on the field for the Rams’ first practice this afternoon.

The Rams are attempting to sign Donald to a new, long-term contract — even though he’s signed through at the least the 2018 season — and no one seems to know when Donald might show up.

“These are always complicated,” General Manager Les Snead said Friday afternoon at a previously unscheduled news conference. “It wasn’t shocking or a surprise. You knew there was a chance it could occur. You also knew, and were hopeful, that we could work things out soon, but we didn’t.”

Rams players had been scheduled to arrive by 10 a.m. Friday to check in for camp, and after several arrived, with luggage and audio speakers in tow, team staffers packed up their supplies at 9:15 a.m. Donald hadn’t arrived, and clearly the Rams knew better than to expect him.

Snead said he spoke with Donald’s agent Friday, but Snead batted away several questions about the nature of the contract negotiations and said he wouldn’t get into details. Privately, Rams officials said the talks with Donald’s agent have been amicable and that communication remains open.

“That was one of the first things,” McVay said. “Any time you’ve got a player like him, a captain, an important part of what we’re trying to do, we will address it right away and that’s what we did. I think it was something, it wasn’t like the players didn’t know what was going on, but you want to be able to at least address it and then move forward accordingly.”

This isn’t new. Donald missed a major part of the team’s optional offseason program because of the negotiations. The Rams, who are installing a new defense under coordinator Wade Phillips, will be forced to start practice without their best player, and Donald won’t be getting live reps.

The Rams recently picked up an option that keeps Donald under contract through the 2018 season. By missing the first day of camp, Donald risks a $40,000 team fine, and if he doesn’t report by Aug. 8, he will not accrue a year toward free agency, a step he almost certainly would not take.

Upon his check-in Friday morning, linebacker Robert Quinn said teammates wouldn’t take issue with Donald’s absence.

“We know he wants to be here,” Quinn said. “My college coach told me, ‘Make plays, get paid.’ Aaron has a great heart. He loves football, first and foremost. He’s just going through a tough little situation right now. The guys have his back, and once he finally decides to come out here, we’d love to see his face and take it from there.”

The Tennessee Titans inadvertently added more fuel to the Donald situation Friday when they signed one of his contemporaries, former USC standout Jurrell Casey, to a four-year contract worth $60.4 million. Casey has played three more seasons than Donald and has 33 career sacks to Donald’s 28.

Donald is set to make approximately $3.2 million this season, including bonuses, and his 2018 option would be worth approximately $6.9 million. Beyond that, the Rams could apply their franchise-player tag to Donald in 2019 and 2020. A “tagged” defensive tackle would have earned $13.4 million in 2017.

Sitting out

Running back Lance Dunbar and receiver Mike Thomas were put on the “physically unable to perform” list and defensive backs Mo Alexander and LaMarcus Joyner and tight end Cory Harkey were put on the non-football injury list. Thomas last week received a two-game suspension from the NFL.

McVay said the issues for Alexander, Joyner and Harkey were related to player physicals, and he anticipated they would practice today.

Rich Hammond was a high school senior when the Rams left town in 1995, and now he's their beat writer for the Southern California News Group. A native of L.A., Rich broke in at the Daily Breeze as a college freshman and also has covered USC, the Kings, the Lakers and the Dodgers. He still loves sports and telling stories. Don't take the sarcastic tweets too seriously.